Captivity
by Burefan
Summary: Harry is being held captive. Where? He does not know. How long? He thinks it's been a year but he cannot be sure.
1. All Is Black

**Author's Note: This is my first fan fiction so please bear with me. Also, please review after reading. I am open to any types of reviews as long as they are constructive. Thanks!**

It was black all around him but Harry no longer noticed. It had been ages since he had been able to see anything and he rarely bothered to open his eyes. Somehow, his captors were able to keep his cell in complete darkness, even when they entered to torture him. Harry's mind sometimes drifted to the possibility that his cell was in fact not completely dark but that he had gone blind some time ago. As soon as that thought came to his mind, he would push it away. He had been able to keep himself sane during his captivity only due to the strength of his will. He did not allow any thought to remain in his mind that would depress or discourage him.

The torture sessions had intensified of late and Harry hoped this was a sign of impending change. He did not care whether his circumstances changed for the better or worse, he simply craved a change. His routine had remained constant during the entire year of his captivity. At least he thought it was a year; he had been attempting to keep track of the days that passed but the hours dragged on. At times, especially after a particularly brutal torture session, he would lose consciousness and when he awoke, he had no idea how long he had been gone.

He had not broken. His captors asked a single question during every torture session. The question never varied and neither did Harry's resolve that he would not break. He would not give up the location of Albus Dumbledore. No matter how long or how brutal the torture, Harry remained silent. Except for his screams, he had not uttered a single word for a year.

Harry's guiding light and constant source of strength was his memory of Ginny Weasley. The image of her face the last time he had seen her was burned into his head. He saw her almost constantly and would conduct elaborate conversations with her in his mind. She was the one who would comfort him after torture or sustain him when he thought all was lost. The sole reason he was still alive was his love for Ginny.

It was due to his love for her that he had been caught. Dark wizards came for him just after dawn. Ginny was in the shower having been called into work early that day. Harry was still in bed and heard the intruders enter their apartment. Had he been alone, Harry would simply have disapparated and been miles away within seconds. But he could not leave Ginny. If he left, she would have no warning and would not be able to hear the intruders until it was too late.

Instead, Harry had grabbed his wand and crept to the door of the bathroom. He had entered silently and gone to the shower to get Ginny out. His plan had been to grab her and apparate them both away from the apartment. Before he could do so, one of the dark wizards had entered the bathroom and all he had time to do was to cast a spell that built an impenetrable wall around the shower. He remembered hoping desperately that it would be strong enough to keep them away from her.

He did not know if it had been strong enough but he never allowed himself to think of Ginny being caught or killed. In his dreams she was alive and well. In some dreams, she had formed a search party and was trying everything she could to find him. This hope sustained him; one day she would find him and they would be together again.


	2. The Search

_**AN: Well, even though I received no reviews for chapter one of this story, I've decided to continue. Please read and review!**_

"It's no use, Ginny!" Percy said, the exasperation showing in his voice. "We have been at this for over a year. Harry is dead and there is nothing that anyone can do to change that fact." He gave his younger sister a pitying look and reached out to stroke her cheek.

Ginny slapped his hand away and looked furiously into his eyes. "You may be a quitter, Percy, but I am not. I will never give up hope! Harry is not dead and one day I will prove it to you. Then you'll have to eat your own stupid words!" Ginny was now yelling so loudly that she had the satisfaction of seeing her brother cower away from her.

"Why don't you just leave, Percy? What are you still doing here if you have given up hope?" She looked over at Ron and Hermione. "We don't need him, do we?"

Hermione looked from Ginny to Ron, completely at a loss. She hated getting involved in the arguments between Ginny and Percy. It was getting harder and harder to remain neutral as the fights became more numerous and nasty.

Ron saw his wife's discomfort and answered Ginny quickly. "You two need to stop arguing. It is Harry we need to be thinking about right now, not our own petty differences." He turned to Percy. "As for you, I will tell you this for the final time. Harry Potter is not dead. Have you forgotten what he has done for our world? Do you really believe that he would allow himself to be killed by some lowlife wizards? We know the reason he was taken: Dumbledore. As long as his captors believe that Harry knows where Dumbledore is hiding, they will keep him alive. He may not be comfortable but he is alive."

Percy looked away from Ron and nodded. "You are right," he said. "Harry deserves more from me than what I have been giving lately. I'm sorry, Ginny. I know what you need right now is support and hope and I have been delinquent. Please forgive me." He moved towards her and offered a hug.

Ginny moved into his arms and took comfort. Ever since her brother had knocked at the Burrow door almost eighteen months ago, he had been a source of comfort and love for her. It had taken her father quite some time to forgive all that Percy had said and done to their family, but he was now back in good standing as a Weasley.

Hermione smiled lovingly at her husband and whispered, "I'm so proud of how you handled that. You have grown so much during the past year, I'm not sure Harry will recognize you when we find him. I love you so much." She moved closer to Ron and kissed him tenderly on the cheek.

Ginny broke away from Percy and turned back to the board they had erected in the kitchen. The board was covered in photographs, maps and scribbled notes. They had pinned up every scrap of evidence, every lead they had gathered since Harry's disappearance. As Ginny looked at all their work she had to admit that they were no closer to finding him than they were a year ago.

She shook that thought out of her mind and turned away from the board. "I want to go back to that interview with the next door neighbor. Hermione, you were the one who talked to her. Can you tell me again what you heard?"

Although she had told Ginny the woman's story many times, Hermione patiently recounted the interview once again. "Well, she said she woke up early that morning to feed her dog and was startled by a loud crack from the hallway. She rushed to the door and opened it just enough so that she could look out. In the hallway, she could see three figures in dark cloaks walking quietly towards your flat door. She was too afraid to say anything and frankly it's a good thing she didn't. The three proceeded into your flat and closed the door quietly.

"She says that she didn't hear another sound until the shouting started. The only coherent phrase she could make out was "It's you!" before another loud crack sounded. After that, all she could hear were your screams and then the rescue team that came to get you out." Hermione finished recounting the woman's story and asked, "What are you hoping to get from hearing the interview again?"

Ginny thought hard. "Well, we've already made the assumption that Harry knew at least one of the three people that kidnapped him. We've made list after list of possible suspects and investigated them all thoroughly. We've come up with nothing and that seems so impossible. We all know everyone that Harry knows. How could we be missing someone? Are we leaving out a suspect because we just can't believe they would do this to Harry? I think we need to widen our search to include Harry's friends as well as his enemies. What do you all think?"

Ron nodded his agreement. "Let's make another list of people we skipped over during the initial pass. This time we can't even leave ourselves off the list." With that, the four went to work.


End file.
